Starry Starry Night at The Buttonwood Inn

Recently we had a visit from Alan Chaniewski, a photojournalist for the past 32 years, Alan is currently Chief Videographer at The Hartford Courant newspaper in Hartford, Connecticut. Most of his videos can be seen on their website at http://www.courant.com/. His recent blogs, including a very flattering one about the Buttonwood Inn's relationship to Astronomy, is posted on http://www.ctcameraeye.com/ .

Alan and his wife Debbie visited many of the sights in the Mount Washington Valley and the photographs they have taken are, to say the least , outstanding. This photo of me and Paula next to the Inn's 10" Meade telescope set up in the backyard of the Buttonwood is an example of Alan's skill because anyone who can make me look good in a photo is certainly skilled.

Alan also shot some great pictures of our resident red squirrel and an awesome picture of a hummingbird in mid-flight which can be seen on his blog. http://www.ctcameraeye.com/




Here's an example of an image of Jupiter I took that Alan was able to enhance. I used the 10" Meade you see in the photograph . I had a very simple Canon A80 digital camera which I simply held up to the eyepiece of the telescope and voila!



The following image of the moon was taken the same night and is a good example of the the imaging capability of the Meade instrument. As a kid I always wanted a telescope and I was always looking up and marveling at the night sky. I was fortunate to find this great telescope as we were planning to move from Central New Jersey to our new home at the Buttonwood Inn atop Mount Surprise on the border of North Conway and Bartlett. I just knew that the skies were going to be awesome with hardly any of the light pollution experienced down south and I wasn't disappointed. Looking up at the Milky Way here can be breathtaking and when our guests look up from the outdoor hot tub on a clear, moonless night they are often speechless as they take in the grandeur of it all.

Paula and I welcome anyone who is interested in astronomy to come visit. Whether you bring your own telesope, camera with telephoto lens, or binoculars, or take in the sights through our equipment you are sure to have a wonderful experience in the White Mountains of New Hampshire at The Buttonwood Inn on Mount Surprise.

Happy Stargazing!